Shloka 49

अलंबलवधः (Alaṃbala-vadhaḥ) / The Slaying of Alaṃbala and the Advance toward Karṇa

Devanagari script

चक्ररक्षावषि तदा युधामन्यूत्तमौजसौ

Transliteration

cakrarakṣāv ṛṣi tadā yudhāmanyūttamaujasau

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: Pada ketika itu, Yudhāmanyu dan Uttamaujas memikul tugas menjaga formasi roda, berdiri sebagai pelindung yang berjaga-jaga di tengah keganasan yang tersusun di medan perang—suatu kesetiaan yang berdisiplin dalam tuntutan perang yang keras.

Word by Word

• चक्ररक्षावशि: in (the state of) being under the control of the wheel-guarding (formation)
• चक्ररक्षावशि: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चक्र-रक्षा-वशिन्
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• तदा: then
• तदा: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा

• युधामन्यूत्तमौजसौ: Yudhāmanyu and Uttamaujā (the two warriors)
• युधामन्यूत्तमौजसौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: युधामन्यु-उत्तमौजस्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• संजय (Sañjaya)
• युधामन्यु (Yudhāmanyu)
• उत्तमौजस् (Uttamaujas)
• चक्र/चक्रव्यूह (wheel-formation)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even within warfare, conduct is framed by assigned duty (rakṣā) and disciplined loyalty: protecting a formation is not mere aggression but a role-bound responsibility that sustains order amid chaos.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Yudhāmanyu and Uttamaujas are stationed to guard the cakra (wheel-like battle-array), serving as protective fighters to secure the formation and those operating within it.